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Character name origins
thumb|300px|Jerry Nelson and Jerry Characters named after performers/crew The Muppets * Betsy Bird — named after Betsy Baytos * Cynthia Birdley — named after Cynthia Adler * Fletcher Bird — named after Graham Fletcher * Frank — a Frank Oz lookalike * Gene — named after Gene Barretta * Jerry — a Jerry Nelson lookalike * Jim — a Jim Henson lookalike * Joe the Armadillo — named after Joey Mazzarino * Lou — named after Louise Gold * Roger — named after Roger Knight * Walter -- named after a puppet that Jason Segel owned Sesame Street * Big Jeffy — named after Jeff Moss * Jeffy — named after Jeff Moss * Calypso Calloway — named after Northern Calloway * Chrissy — named after Christopher Cerf * Little Chrissy — named after Christopher Cerf * Davey Monkey — named after David Rudman * Fran — named after Fran Brill * Miss Fran — named after Fran Brill * Farmer Frankie — named after Frank Oz * Frances Oznowicz — named after Frank Oz * Little Jerry — named after Jerry Nelson * Little Sammy Pottle — named after Sam Pottle * Mr. Jerry — named after Jerry Nelson * Joe Marley — named after Joey Mazzarino * Joey Dickens — named after Joey Mazzarino * Joey Monkey — named after Joey Mazzarino * Louisey — named after Louise Gold * Marty — named after Martin P. Robinson * Richard — named after Richard Hunt * Rockin' Richard — named after Richard Hunt * Pammy — named after Pam Arciero * Diva D'Abruzzo — named after Stephanie D'Abruzzo * Mrs. Turow — named after Cathi Rosenberg-Turow (performed by Stephanie D'Abruzzo) * Frank and Jerry — in a sketch about measuring , two Muppets performed by Frank Oz and Jerry Nelson, respectively. * Kevin and Kathryn — in a Professor Grover sketch about school , two classmates named after their performers, Kevin Clash and Kathryn Mullen, respectively. * Lara and Matt — in the video Learning is Everywhere, two friends Elmo and Abby meet at the park are named after their performers, Lara MacLean and Matt Vogel, respectively. Fraggle Rock * Balsam — named after Philip Balsam (performed by Lee Armstrong, Jerry Nelson and Karen Prell) * Gillis Fraggle — named after Don Gillis (performed by Richard Hunt) * Phil Fraggle — named after Philip Balsam The Animal Show * Dave the Human — Dave Goelz (puppet performed by Bill Barretta) Other * It was originally suggested that Zoe on Sesame Street be named after her performer, Fran Brill. Brill didn't want a puppet named after her, so she suggested naming the puppet Zoe after the J. D. Salinger novel Franny and Zooey.Sesame Street Unpaved, p. 87 Characters named after other people * Bert and Ernie — see Are Bert and Ernie named after characters from It's a Wonderful Life? * Deena — named after a close friend of Norman Stiles. * Bunsen Honeydew — named after chemist Robert Bunsen (of bunsen burner fame), and the honeydew melon. * Donnie and Marie Dodo — named after Donny and Marie Osmond. * Fozzie Bear — see Fozzie's name * Gloria Estefan (penguin) — named after Gloria Estefan * Humphrey and Ingrid — named after Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. * Kermit the Frog — see Was Kermit named after a childhood friend of Jim Henson? * Miss Piggy — named after Peggy Lee"The Woman Behind Miss Piggy", Anika Gupta, Smithsonian magazine, October 2008. * Mokey — named after a childhood friend of Jim Henson. * Prairie Dawn — named after an actress named Prairie Dorn. * Rizzo the Rat — named after Ratso Rizzo from Midnight Cowboy. * Svengali — named after a character in George du Maurier's novel Trilby. see also: Category:Caricature Muppets and Category:Parody Muppets Characters named after places * Astoria — named after the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. * Belmont — named after the horse racing track Belmont Park. * The Bouncing Borcellino Brothers — named after the Italian hat company Borcellino. * Waldorf — named after the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. * Wembley — named after Wembley Stadium. * Signor Baffi — named after Signor Baffi's Italian restaurant. * Statler — named after the Statler Hotel in New York City. * Oscar the Grouch — named after Oscar's Tavern in Manhattan. Characters named after filmmaking techniques * Limbo — used in video production to indicate a neutral or nondescript background. * Gobo — short for "go between"; a lighting term used in film, television and theatre. * Traveling Matt — from "traveling matte," a technique used in television and film to insert a foreground object into a prerecorded background image. * Waldo — after the waldo, the electronic device used to perform him. Characters whose names are puns right|300px * Abby Cadabby — a play on "abracadabra" * Anne Phibian — a play on "amphibian" * A. Ligator — a play on "aligator" * Bestov Breed — a play on "best of breed" * Gonnigan — a play on "gone again" * Gordon Blue — a play on the French baked chicken dish "cordon bleu" * Herry Monster — a play on "hairy monster" * Hugh Mungous — a play on "humongous" * Hypocritic Oaf — a play on "hippocratic oath" * Ms. Nomer — a play on "misnomer" * Lotta Chatter — a play on "lot of chatter" * Mr. Mason Dixon — a play on "the Mason Dixon line" * Dr. Nobel Price — a play on "Nobel Prize" * Phil Harmonic — a play on "Philharmonic" * Sal Minella — a play on "salmonella" * Sopwith the Camel — a play on "Sopwith Camel" * Sue Snue - she is a "Seuss" character that is "new" * Tatooey Rat — a play on "ratatouille" * Lew Zealand — a play on "New Zealand" * Isabel — she "is a bell" Characters whose names are anagrams * Kermit the Forg — scrambling of the letters in "frog" * Kermit the Gorf — scrambling of the letters in "frog" * Kermit the Grof — scrambling of the letters in "frog" * The Teppums — "Teppum" Muppet backwards * Oznog — "Gonzo" backwards * Timrek the Gorf — "Kermit the Frog" backwards Other name origins * Beaker — named after the piece of lab equipment. * Boober — named after an angry cow encountered by one of Jim Henson's daughters in Devon. Sources __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Character Lists Category:Rumors Category:Self-References